Yosemite Falls
Beginning on May 21, 2021 Yosemite National Park will require day-use visitors to hold a reservation to enter the park. Visitors who have camping or lodging reservations will not be required to have day-use reservations. Continue reading
On the surface it would seem that rideshare services like Lyft would make accessible transportation more available to people with disabilities. But that’s definitely not the case in the San Francisco area, and DRA Legal is trying to do something about it. More specifically they filed a class action lawsuit against Lyft last month, in an effort to compel the company to provide wheelchair-accessible services in the San Francisco area. Continue reading
As the government shutdown enters the second week, the national parks that have remained open are starting to suffer the consequences of limited staffing. Yosemite is no exception, and as a result park officials recently announced more closures and restrictions in the park. Continue reading
Lake Yellowstone Hotel
Researching national park access can be tedious, especially where lodging is concerned. National park lodges are operated by concessionaires, who operate under strict guidelines, and are responsible for the repair, improvement and daily operation of the facilities. Continue reading
Accessible tent cabin at Safari West will reopen in 2018.
Safari West – a favorite attraction of mine – partially reopened their facilities last month after the Tubbs Fire ravaged Sonoma county. Although much of the land surrounding this wild animal preserve was parched by the fire, the good news is that no animals at Safari West were injured or killed as a result of it. Continue reading
I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest accessible travel title – “Barrier-Free Travel; Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers”. I had a great time researching this book – partly because I grew up in the area and I have fond memories of exploring Yosemite with my dad, but also because I now live close to the parks. And after 40 years of writing travel I’ve finally penned a book about my home turf! It’s about time. Continue reading
All Access Trail at Hendy Woods State Park
Sometimes I just happen to stumble across cool accessible travel finds. Such was the case yesterday when Charles and I were checking out Hendy Woods. We’ve passed by this California state park many times — located off Highway 128 near Philo — but somehow we never managed to stop. Continue reading
I’ve visited a wide variety of rail attractions over the past 20 years on my accessible travel beat, and I have to say that the folks at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (www.YMSPRR.com) really wowed me the other day. Continue reading
After spending the past three weeks exploring Sequoia National Park for my next book, Barrier-Free Travel; Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers (www.barrierfreeyosemite.com) I’ve come away with some observations about access in this often overlooked national treasure. Of course, as with any research trip there was good and bad, but on the plus side I have to say that the good far outweighed the bad on this Sequoia visit. With that in mind here are my top three “access plusses” – access features that totally wowed me – in the land of the giant sequoias. Continue reading
Located on the Northern California Coast, Fort Ross offers good access for wheelchair-users and slow walkers
Located on scenic Highway 1, Fort Ross was once the site of the southernmost Russian settlement in America. Over the years it transitioned from a fort to a ranch, until the state of California purchased the abandoned site in 1903. Today, the refurbished fort is open to the public; and although access is somewhat marginal at many historic attractions, I’m happy to report that thanks to some substantial access upgrades, Fort Ross is now accessible to everyone.
